If I Were Obama. . .

Blogging for Glamocracy for the past year has been the experience of a lifetime! I will miss the frantic wondering every Monday of what topic I should write on, the late nights on Tuesday, awaiting primary results before I file my entry, and the camaraderie, humor, and overall loveliness of my co-bloggers. You'll see me again in print in March, when my new book, Red, White, & Muslim, is published by HarperOne, but until then dear Glamocrats, I leave you with this musing.

If I were Obama, my journal/to-do list would read like this:

1. Propose and pass comprehensive immigration reform in the first 100 days. It's not only the right thing to do, but also documenting illegal workers will enhance our tax base, which is sorely needed even if we leave Iraq on a short time-frame.

2. Find an appropriate role for Hillary. A proper role befitting the first major female presidential candidate: maybe the first female Secretary of Defense. Reconsider appointing her to the first or second Supreme Court opening after a two-year stint in the Cabinet. She will serve our mutual causes of liberalism and progressiveness well in both positions, and she won't be a thorn in my side if she's on my side! (As for Bill, consider making him ambassador to a large Muslim nation or special liaison for the White House on Muslim Outreach as part of a greater effort to open dialogue with international Muslims.)

3. Try not to blame Bush too much and show some bipartisanship by appointing a respected, moderate Republican to my Cabinet. I don't want to keep the flames of anger over the Bush years burning by making excuses. (Note: ask Rahm to research ambitious Senate Republicans who would take the spot, leaving his/her seat open for a Democratic appointee, achieving additional goal of making the Senate filibuster-proof.)

5. Make sure to be sworn in as "Barack HUSSEIN Obama." Lead by example. Show people that if the president can embrace the stickier sides of his identity, so can they. It will be that in recognizing our perceived weaknesses, even the smallest ones, we will actually diminish them and replace the space left behind with a new-found strength in ourselves, our country, and the world. Yes, we can, and yes, we will.